It’s strange to look at the calendar and to note that January is coming close to an end. Among family and many friends, the chatters of the day revolve around the preparation for the upcoming Chinese New Year, prompting some action on my part to organise a CNY dinner with a few close friends next week. Sadly, it has been years since I spent CNY at home. Ah, those were the golden times indeed… And oh, speaking of golden, that brings us to the word of the week: doré(e)!

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20 Jan: Have you ever wonder why perfumes exist mostly in shades of gold? I understand from marketing stand point, of trying to evoke this sense of luxury and wealth, and link it to a certain status bestowed among perfume users, but shouldn’t the fragrant matters more than the colour of the liquid? In my mind, the darker the shade of gold, usually the more off-putting the scent. Too strong, too intense, just too much.

21 Jan: This is Ramen Week in Paris and today, C and I have learned some golden rules about ramen eating while waiting to be served. The slurping is perhaps the most awkward step for us to follow. Accustomed to eating quietly and orderly, the act of slurping appears boisterous, a little messy (splashes of the soup everywhere) and unlady-like. Does slurping really helps to cool the noodles down and is therefore integral to the process?

22 Jan: Honey is nature’s liquid gold (remember last year’s candy wall of jars of honey?) and yet, depending on the bees’ diet, could easily take on other colours, rendering the usual clear golden obsolete. The aroma and the taste of the honey change accordingly too, much to my palate’s delights, because it is really not all about the saccharine-like sweetness normally found in a generic jar of honey. I’d happily pay more for the honeys with floral notes, herbaceous touches, and complex finishes. Maybe not the colourant-laced blue honey though…

23 Jan: I’m still scouting around for furnishing to render our new nest more homey and infused with warmth, so I’ve been checking out shops to see if there are anything suitable and hopefully at a discounted price given the ongoing winter sales. I can’t say I have had a lot of luck in that department, or perhaps I am out of touch with the market prices? Tempted as I was with these lamps, prices aside, they’re also not terribly practical given the large number of dust-collecting pockets present.

24 Jan: This is your golden advice of the day! In essence, “why put so much money into buying clothes when best moments are in nude?” (the translation sounds a bit weird, but I am not sure how to improve it). What got me really laughing was the postcards just behind this, of not-so-lean yet topless men in tutus. There has got to be another kind of French paradox here somewhere ;)

25 Jan: This evening, F and I found ourselves in a small theatre in the neighbourhood of Opera – my belle-sœur had given us a pair of tickets to a comedic one-man show for Christmas. Like many theatres, its interiors were full of red and gold, although clearly this theatre has also seen its golden days passed by. The show was very entertaining, banishing the reservations I had when going in, because I always fear my French is not up to scratch in understanding most of the sketches. Maybe I should go to theatres more often?

26 Jan: It feels like I’m forever hanging out at Pierre Hermé, isn’t it? F and I headed out to Versailles this afternoon for lunch and had brought along one of the goodies – a most delectable Saint Honoré – from his latest, bright, fresh and lemony collection. For a moment, we debated buying a large cake to share, or a selection of individually-sized cakes from the series. The former came up top, since it was easier to transport than a bunch of smaller cakes.

me? quiet and orderly? lady-like? :P you’ve had too much perfume i guess ;)
also, you have got to give me more details about the lemon saint-honoré! (not to share, i promise to be a good girl, but i still want to know!)

St Honore was good but I can’t say it is exactly to my taste. It is tangy and fresh though, so you don’t even feel too much creaminess in the cream. Then again lemon is not quite my flavour of preference either (poor F, who loves lemon tart and has hard time getting me to make it).